Open letter to Secretaries Markwayne Mullin and Marco Rubio

Read the Open Letter
Read the Open Letter
Sign on NOW
Sign on NOW
Learn more
Learn more

More than 1,100 Afghan allies remain stranded under U.S. authority at Camp As Sayliyah. Many are fully vetted and approved for resettlement in the United States. The Administration is considering sending them somewhere else.

That is not a solution. It is abandonment.

CTA Buttons

  • Read the Open Letter

  • Add Your Organization

  • Contact Congress

What’s Happening

More than 1,100 Afghan allies and their families are currently being held at Camp As Sayliyah (CAS) in Qatar under U.S. authority.

Approximately 800 are fully vetted and approved refugees, cleared for travel to the United States. Many are family members of active-duty U.S. servicemembers and Intelligence Community partners. More than half are women and children.

They were moved to Qatar by the United States to complete lawful immigration processing. They followed the rules. They passed extensive vetting. They have now been stuck in transit for more than 15 months.

The Administration is reportedly considering relocating them to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

They were not vetted for the DRC. They were approved for the United States.

Why This Matters

This is bigger than one camp or one policy decision.

It’s about whether the United States keeps its word.

  • These individuals risked their lives alongside American forces

  • Many are entitled to family reunification under U.S. law

  • All have undergone some of the most rigorous vetting in U.S. immigration history

There is no credible security justification for denying them entry.

Relocating them to a third country is not a temporary fix. It is a permanent diversion from commitments already made.

If the United States can hold approved refugees in transit and then redirect them elsewhere, future partners will not trust American promises.

That risk extends to every future conflict.

What We’re Seeing

This is not an isolated decision. It reflects a broader pattern:

  • Suspension of refugee processing in January 2025

  • Elimination of CARE and termination of Enduring Welcome

  • Slowdown of SIV processing

  • Attempts to repatriate Afghans awaiting U.S. processing

Taken together, these actions undermine the largest relocation commitment the United States has made to wartime allies in generations.

What Needs to Happen

We are calling for immediate action:

  • Abandon any plan to relocate CAS residents to third countries

  • Admit all approved refugees at CAS to the United States

  • Ensure safe and secure conditions at CAS while relocation proceeds

  • Resume full processing of SIV, refugee, and family reunification cases

  • Brief Congress on the legal authority for continued detention

  • Meet with coalition leaders and impacted families

  • Commit publicly to resolving this situation in line with existing law

These are not new demands. They are the minimum required to honor commitments already made.

The Coalition

This effort is led by veterans, military families, faith leaders, refugee resettlement organizations, civil rights groups, and frontline civilians.

It is bipartisan. It always has been.

The people closest to this issue understand what is at stake.